Transmission line clamp



June 1935- E. E. ARNOLD ET AL 2,005,881

TRANSMISSION LINE CLAMP Filed May 24. 1953 ai Hg WITNESSES:

INVENTORS. Edi rm E. Arno/d and 6- Char/es LeG. Fbrfescue BY .WZ/ T i Patented June 25, 1935 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRANSMISSION LINE CLAMP Edwin E. Arnold and Charles Le G. Forteacue, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa... a corporation of Pennsylvania Application May 24, 1933, Serial No. 872,662

3 Claims. (Cl. 248-63) Our invention relates to clamps for securing Fig. 5 is a view in elevation of a portion of the transmission line cables to supporting towers, and structure shown in Fig. 1; and more particularly to a clamp of improved design Fig. 6 is a view in lateral section taken on the wherein molecular fatigue of the conductor adline VI--VI in Fig. 5.

5 jacent to the clamp, resulting from vibration of Referring more specifically to the drawing and 5 the cable, is substantially eliminated. particularly Fig. 1 thereof, a multi-leaf spring I In the past much thought has been given to of flexible strip material, such as spring steel, is the prevention of transmission line breakage, and adapted to underlie the cable 2 for a substantial the consequent reduction in line outages and distance. As shown, the spring is composed of 10 strain or damage to the supporting towers and three leaves of different length, although quite 10 various types f clamps have been proposed f obviously the number and dimensions of the r d ing to eliminate these difllleaves, as well as the material of which they are culties. In substantially all cases, however, there ad may b ari d t t th requirements has been a more or less rigid connection between of a given installation.

it the cable and the supporting structu e t u The end portions of the longest leaf of the the clamp, 50 that cable vihl'etiehs reacting spring I are formed to approximately conform aga n t t clamp resulted in bending of the cable to the contour of the cable 2, and are provided at the poi 0! elempihg- Inevitable molecule! with lateral extensions 3 extending at right angles fatigue and consequent breakage resulted. t th xi of th cabl Cable vibrations which cause a horizontal moveh mid-portions of t leaves of th spring 20 ment or swing of the ab are not Particularly are bent or deformed and serve the double purpose harmful, because the Cable d c p are free of imparting a limited longitudinal resiliency to to Sw together about the Point of i-P 0f the spring, and of maintaining the spring in the insulator Strin t s necessary. therefore proper position with reference to the supporting y to guard against Vibrations 081181118 Vertical structure, as hereinafter described. It is con- 25 movement of the Cable. which movements cause templated that the spring shall be'of substantial a bending o t cable at the Point Of Clamping length, of the order of several feet, so that the because vertical move e t o the clamp is ends will be a substantial distance from the point stricted. of support.

It is an object of t e present invention to D The ends of the spring I are secured to the cable 30 vlde a Simp and inexpensive clamp which D by means of clamps I, each comprising a lower vides a resilient connection between the cable and Shoe 5 and an upper Shoe g clamped together the supporting structure to prevent the damaging with u 1t The longitudinal edges of the effect of line vibration on the cable. upper clamping shoes 6 are provided with lugs 8 In practicin the inv t m elongated spring to properly position the shoe with reference to of flexible strip material underlies the conductor t 1t 1 and t t l extensions 3 i'or a substantial part of the length thereof and perate t t remote sides of th clamps t the ends of the spring are firmly clamped to the insure that the cable, clamp and spring are conductor. A supporting shoe underlies the strip curely clamped together 40 at Substan a y e mid Point thereof and is W A supporting shoe or saddle i0 is disposed about otally secured to a yoke, which in turn is secured the d point of the spring i and loosely surto the cross arm of the transmission line tower, rounds th conductor z A deformed portion in or other supporting structure, by means ofastring t Saddle |u cooperates t t t or of suspension insu et formed portion in the mid-portions of the spring In the drawing, Figure 1 is a view in elevat to prevent substantial movement of the shoe of one modification of the clamp constituting the l tudinally of the s rin and t m i t t present invention; spring and saddle in proper operative relation.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in elevation of the A suporting yoke or stirrup i2 straddles the central supporting structure, corresponding to saddle l0 and is pivoted thereto by means of a that shown in Fig. o another d fi at on 0f bolt l3. The upper part of the stirrup is provided the invention; with a socket ll of a usual type for securing the Fig. 3 is a view in lateral section taken on assembly to a cooperating element at the bottom the line III-HI in Fig. 2; of a string of insulators, which in turn is secured Fig. 4 is a view in lateral section taken on the to the transmission line tower or other support. line IVIV in Fig. 2;" It will be noted that the bolt II extends transversely of the saddle l above the bent portion in the spring I and beneath the cable 2 to maintain the saddle in proper position with reference to the spring and cable.-

In Figs. 2 to 6, inclusive, the construction is the same as that shown in Fig. 1 except that the spring comprises a single strip 20 of flexible material, instead of a plurality of strips as in Fig. 1. Such construction may be considered preferable for many applications, both for engineering and economic reasons. The various parts shown in Figs. 2 to 6 are numbered to correspond with the corresponding parts shown in Fig. 1.

It should be apparent that, with the construction described, vibrations occurring in the line 2 between spans will cause movement at the ends of the strip or spring, but there is no relative movement between the clamps 4 and the cable 2 and there is, accordingly, no bending of the conductor at the point of clamping. In addition, the cable 2 extends freely through the shoe l0 and, since relative movement is permitted, there is no stress imposed upon the cable at the point of support.

In assembling the structure, preferably, the cable is slightly bent before the clamps l are applied, so that, when the structure is ultimately raised to its operative position, the stretch of conductor between the clamps is subjected to a compressive force; the strip or spring being so dimensioned and of such material that it can assume safely the strain imposed by the weight of the cable, and constitutes a resilient tie between the clamps.

In view of the fact that the strip or spring is flexible in a vertical plane it is effective to damp or absorb, to some extent, vibrations on the cables; and the widely spaced clamps in conjunction with the longitudinal resiliency of the strip afforded by the bend in the mid-portion thereof, result in a desired stress distribution and stress relief in the cable and supporting structure. By providing a multi-leaf spring, as in Fig. l, the friction between the leaves tends to damp or absorb the line vibrations, and when a single strip is used, the friction between the strip and the cable resting upon it tends to damp the vibrations.

Inasmuch as it is impossible to completely eliminate the vibration in a transmission line span, a practical'solution of the problem of cable breakage due to vibration is the provision of a structure as above described wherein the efiect of the vibration is eliminated, or at least'substantially reduced.

Quite obviously, various modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and it is desired that only such limitations be placed thereon as are imposed by the prior art and set forth in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A supporting clamp for a transmission line cable comprising a resilient tie member for disposition longitudinally of the cable and in contact therewith for a substantial portion of its length, means for securing the ends of said tie member to the cable, and means engaging the central portion of said resilient tie member and free of the cable for securing the clamp to a support, said means and resilient tie member having cooperating portions to maintain them in operative relation.

2. A supporting clamp for a transmission line cable comprising a strip of flexible material for disposition beneath the cable longitudinally thereof, clamps for securing the ends of said strip to the cable, a supporting shoe surrounding with said strip adjacent the mid point thereof and loosely surrounding the cable, a supporting element and means for pivotally securing it to said shoe for pivotal movement in a 'plane parallel with the axis of said cable said securing means including a bolt extending transversely of said shoe below the cable and above said strip for maintaining said shoe and strip in operative relation.

3. A supporting clamp for a cable comprising an elongated strip for disposition beneath the cable substantially parallel therewith, means for clamping the ends of said strip to the cable, a bent portion in said strip at substantially the midpoint thereof, a supporting shoe having a recess therein for receiving said bent portion and being proportioned to loosely surround the cable, and means for pivotally supporting said shoe, includ ing means for maintaining said bent portion in said recess.

EDWIN E. ARNOLD. CHARLES LE G. FORTESCUE. 

